![]() ![]() He then purchased a location on Green Bay Avenue near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. She owned a shop on 14th Street and Walnut and William worked for her for more than 15 years. Joe Sellers’ mother, Mildred, was the first woman in the state of Wisconsin to receive a barber’s license. He received his degree from Milwaukee Vocational School (now MATC). One of the two buddies with whom he enlisted, Joe Sellers, convinced William that he should attend barber school. William attended North Division High School and enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1953, receiving an honorable discharge in 1957. Both of his parents worked for the Seidel-Thiele Tannery Company. The family moved from Decatur, AL to Milwaukee when William was about seven years old. William is the older of two children born to Charity (Sisemore) and William Campbell. He also cut hair for many of the African American players at Marquette University during the 1970s when the school won or was a finalist in several NCAA basketball championships. ![]() He often cut hair for Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as well as many other African American baseball players. William said he often plays traditional jazz music through the sound system in the shop.īack in the day, when the Green Bay Packers played in Milwaukee, William said he would often cut the hair of Willie Davis, Willie Wood and other Lombardi-era African American Packer players. ![]() In addition to himself, William employs two other barbers, but since each chair is located in its own cubicle, the experience feels more relaxing and private. Most of the antiques, including the chairs and cash register, are still fully operable. William is a self-confessed jazz fanatic and inside the shop, William has decorated the place to resemble a barber shop from the era when jazz was king. William said his grandmother, Bessie Campbell, read a detective story in which the lead character was named “Monk.” William said she began calling him by that name when he was a young child and he hasn’t been able to shake it, so he named his shop after it. Since 1981, he has been the owner and head barber at Monk’s Barber Shop. William (Monk) Campbell, 84, has been cutting hair for more than 60 years. In honor of Black History Month we profile four legendary Black barbershop and salon owners. Scholars often cite these establishments as “sanctuaries” for black people. Over the years, beauty salons and barber shops have come to provide a unique social function. There were spaces where customers played games such as chess, cards, and dominoes, while having conversations about local gossip, politics, and community affairs. They have been places not only to get hair care services, but locations where black people could talk about issues of importance in the community. Since the turn of the 19th century, beauty salons and barber shops have served as special places among African Americans. ![]()
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